New Orleans metro HousingGauge — October 5, 2026 | YELLOW 51

Welcome to the New Orleans metro HousingGauge, your weekly local market report for the week of October 5, 2026.

Here is the headline. New Orleans metro's HousingGauge score is 51 out of 100, which puts the market in the YELLOW zone. Conditions have weakened over the past three months, and financing remains expensive.

Three developments stand out this week.

First: Mortgage rates up 0.85 points in three months. The 30-year fixed rate averages 7.28%, versus 6.43% three months ago.

Second: Score down 11 points over 13 weeks. The score moved from 62 to 51 over the past 13 weeks, driven mainly by Mortgage Conditions (−7.0 points).

Third: Median price up 7.1% from a year ago. The median sale price is $300,000; adjusted for inflation, prices are 3.7% higher than a year ago.

Now, what is behind the score?

Mortgage Conditions scores 12 out of 100. The 30-year fixed rate averages 7.28%, up 0.82 percentage points over six months. Financing remains expensive, limiting affordability for leveraged buyers.

Supply & Buyer Leverage scores 70 out of 100. Inventory is 4.4% lower than a year ago (5,543 active listings), with 5.6 months of supply. Homes take a median 63 days to sell at 96.5% of list price, and 21.9% of listings have had a price cut. Buyers have meaningful negotiating leverage.

Monetary Conditions scores 53 out of 100. The real policy rate is 1.24%, 0.23 points above the estimated neutral rate (r-star) of 1.01% — a near neutral stance. The fed funds rate has risen 0.24 points over six months.

Demand Trend scores 62 out of 100. Pending sales are 4.6% higher than a year ago and closed sales are 1.0% lower. Days on market are 4.5% shorter than a year ago. Demand is steady.

Valuation & Affordability scores 62 out of 100. The median home costs 4.8 times the median household income. Principal and interest on a typical purchase would take 31.5% of that income at current rates. Inflation-adjusted prices are 3.7% higher than a year ago. Affordability is stretched but not extreme.

Rental Economics scores 63 out of 100. A year of median rent equals 6.4% of the median price (a price-to-rent ratio of 15.6). Rents are up 1.4% year over year. Rental economics are middling.

The score is down 1 point from last week's report (52 to 51). Over 13 weeks it is down 11 points, from 62 to 51. The largest contributors were Mortgage Conditions (−7.0 points) and Monetary Conditions (−3.2 points).

So what would move New Orleans metro into the green? It is 18 points away, which would take a broad shift in conditions. Even these changes together would add only about 18 points: 30-year mortgage rate falls below 6.15% (now 7.28%); the Fed cuts more than 0.55 pts over six months (now +0.24 pts); policy gap (real policy rate minus r-star) narrows below −0.90 pts (now +0.23 pts); pending sales grow more than 15.0% year over year (now +4.6%); mortgage rates fall more than 0.10 pts over three months (now +0.85 pts); and months of supply rises above 6.5 months (now 5.6 months).

And what could make conditions worse? Watch for these together: 30-year mortgage rate rises above 7.75% (now 7.28%); pending sales fall more than 1.5% year over year (now +4.6%); the Fed raises rates more than 0.55 pts over six months (now +0.24 pts); policy gap (real policy rate minus r-star) widens above +0.70 pts (now +0.23 pts); and months of supply falls below 4.7 months (now 5.6 months).

That is the New Orleans metro HousingGauge for this week. The HousingGauge score describes market conditions. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell, and it is not individualized financial advice. For charts, sources and the full methodology, visit housinggauge.com. Thanks for listening.